This movement started in Britain around the 1950's. The first time pop art was mentioned was during a discussion among artists from the Independent Group that was formed in the Institute of Contemporary Art in London. This movement was made up of the kids from the baby boom after the war, full of energy and rebellion against Abstract art.
Some of its characteristics are:
-Recognizable imagery inspired from the media and products
-Images of fictional characters in comic books or well-known celebrities from advertisements and magazines
-Flat imagery
-Use of very bright colours
This movement appreciated "material culture". It did not criticize the excessive consumerism and materialism and all the consequences they brought. It just recognized them as a natural fact.
Notable artists of the Pop Art movement include:
-Andy Warhol
-Richard Hamilton
-Roy Lichtenstein
-Eduardo Paolozzi
-Pauline Boty
-Tom Wesselmann
-David Hockney
-Rosalyn Drexler
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Fashion Plate 1969-70. Mediums used Lithograph, screen-print, pochoir and cosmetic on paper.
Hamilton was born in London, attended the Slade School of Art from 1948-51. In 1952 he helped found the Independent Group. In 1956, Hamilton created some of his most well known images. One of them was the "Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?" collage-poster made in 1956.
Marilyn Diptych 1962. Medium used acrylic paint on canvas.
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Andy Warhol was born in 1928 in Pittsburgh. He studied pictorial design at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He worked as a commercial artist and in 1957 was awarded the Art Directors' Club Medal for his shoe advertisements. From 1960, he started to make paintings that were based on mass-produced images from newspapers, magazines and so one. In 1962 he produced a series of easel paintings of, some of which were 'Campbell's Soup Cans', 'Coca-Cola Bottles', portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, Jackie Kennedy. He later produced other paintings of different subjects such as car crashes, electric chair and flowers. He sometimes stuck with the same image and repeated for several times. He is an iconic artist of the Pop Art Movement.
